“79 Specific Reasons” is a follow-up post to my previous one, called “Worst Trip Ever”.
This is not a typical post that I would write.
It’s more of a fourth attempt to reach out to Lizz, to reach back to me, on the issue of her having labeled me a stalker, in Paris, in April, 2018.
She could have a lot of different reasons (see below) for banning me from her shows, but “stalking her” is definitely not one of them. I have never stalked her and I never will. I’m not that kind of person. And SHE knows that too.
I believe she has some other underlying issue that she harbors inside her, that caused her to take that action. Some unspoken fear, perhaps. Or maybe it was from misguided recommendations of fearful people around her.
She could have said I ban you from my shows…….:
…because you come to my shows too frequently
…because I can tell you like me and my music a lot
…because you are a man
…because you’ll travel anywhere to see and hear me sing
…because you write about me too much on your website
…because you praise and promote me every time you write about me
…because you say hi to me when we are in close proximity
…because you are not the typical fan
…because you are always polite and courteous to me when you speak to me
…because I’m shy around my fans so I’m uncomfortable
…because you gave me some Cambodian honey once as a token of your appreciation for me and my music
…because every time I see you, or read a post you have written, you always have a smile on your face and a twinkle in your eye.
……..etc., etc.
Of course, I’m being facetious!
But I am all those things, above, but stalking is not one of them. So the question in my mind is, “What is the real reason Lizz called me a stalker and banned me from her shows? Only Lizz knows the real answer to that question? And she’s not responding to me.
In “Worst Trip Ever”, I asked her if it was ok for me to go to her recent (June 23-26) shows at Jazz Alley in Seattle.
I hoped to go to all four shows. I didn’t want to go without her permission, so I asked her if it was ok.
Also, I asked her not to just ignore my request, whether it be a yes or a no.
But that is exactly what she did. She ignored me. So I did’t go to any of the shows. That’s my loss!
ONE MORE PIECE TO THE PUZZLE
But there is one more piece to this puzzle that I haven’t mentioned yet. It’s important for your understanding and it is worth sharing. It’s the “79 specific reasons”, which I alluded to in the “Worst Trip Ever”. I said that I had 79 reasons that prompted me to believe that Lizz was reading my posts and enjoying them.
Since August, 2014, when I first became aware of Lizz and her music, I started following her FB page diligently, to be aware of any new tours or records or songs she might be planning. I didn’t want to miss out on any of her music. I was so mesmerized by it.
Then I started writing about her and her music often.
As I read her FB page, one day, I noticed she wrote something on her FB page that was very similar to something I had written during the past couple of weeks on my website. I thought it was just a coincidence. But then it happened again and again. I thought maybe it was not a coincidence. But then I thought how could I know if it was a coincidence or not?
So, I decided to keep a record of the dates where she seemed to be copying me in her FB post, within a couple weeks’ time frame from the time I published my post. Then if it was only 3 or 4 times I’d just chalk it up to being a coincidence.
But the list kept on getting longer. It made me realize that she was reading my posts, liking them and borrowing my ideas to put into her FB page. I was not offended at all. It made me happy to know that she liked my posts and flattered that she borrowed some ideas from me.
So the first time it happened was in October, 2015. I had gone to Switzerland to see and hear her sing and while I was there, I also listened to Lisa Simone sing, too, on another night and another stage. Later, in a subsequent post I wrote about that trip to Switzerland, I mentioned that two of Lisa’s band members, did a kind of “dueling instruments” interaction on stage to add fun to the show. Some time later, I noticed two of Lizz’s band members were doing the “dueling instruments” thing too, in one of their shows.
When I went to Tucson, Arizona, to see and hear Lizz sing, I spent some time in the nearby mountains enjoying the view and watching the sunset. After I got back home from that trip, I mentioned that and showed pix of the mountains and sunset in my post. Later on, I went to Lizz’s FB page, and she had added a picture of her sitting on a mountain top, calling it “church”.
I once added a baby picture of myself into a post, and a few days later, she added a baby picture of herself to her FB post.
I mentioned I carry a basketball with me on every trip so I can play basketball every where I go. She then mentioned how she carries a red yoga mat with her every where so she can do yoga before and after the show.
I once said I liked ginger tea and fresh peaches. She posted with coffee and apple pie, fruit (strawberry, blueberry and grapes) and said, “Who says you can’t eat just pie for breakfast?”.
I once said I like how Lizz creates art through her music, her words and her photography.(That was the first time I mentioned her photography). She then posted a photo she took of a red, budding flower, and quipped, “I may or may not be a budding photographer!”
I’m not going to list all 79 times she copied me, but you get the idea, don’t you? I was happy that she was reading my posts and, seemingly, enjoying them. This dynamic between us has been going on all eight years. So you can see my confusion.
I felt like she was secretly liking me when she was reading my posts, in which I praised and promoted her always. But, in public, she acted totally opposite, ignoring and dissing me, and then ultimately calling me a stalker. Those two are incongruent.
To me, that’s being a hypocrite. She acted with less integrity and honesty than I thought she possessed.
However, I didn’t bring these “79 specific reasons” up, in order to bad-mouth Lizz at all. I still think she is an amazing woman and singer.
I brought it up to tell her my truth as I see it, to defend my honor, to ask her the real reason why she did that to me, and to change her mind about me so she might welcome me back to her shows.
What do you say, Lizz?
